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K&C Wins Record Homeowners Insurance Verdict

November 18, 2003
By ALISA BRALOVE,
Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer

After a two-week trial, a federal jury in Baltimore has awarded more than $1 million to a Harford County couple whose insurance company refused to pay after their house burned down two years ago.

Maryland insurance lawyers fight bad faith insurance claims denials

Attorneys Irwin R. Kramer, left, and Lawrence S. Greenberg stand behind their clients, Wayne and Tracey Simms, after a federal jury ordered the Simms’ insurance company to pay more than $1 million for a fire.

Pennsylvania-based Mutual Benefit Insurance Co. tried to convince the jury that Wayne and Tracey Simms committed fraud by inflating the costs needed to rebuild the home and padding the inventory of what was lost; but on Friday, the jury found the Simms had committed no fraud and ordered the insurer to pay them $1,023,147.

Irwin R. Kramer, who represented the Simms, said this case is a perfect illustration of the need for legislation addressing first-party bad faith in Maryland — an unlikely perspective from a lawyer whose practice is predominantly insurance defense work.

“I believe that insurance is a two-way street. There are two parties to every insurance contract and each must deal fairly with the other,” Kramer said. “As much as I believe in defending insurance companies who act properly, I feel just as firmly that I have an important role in litigating against those that don’t.”

First-party bad faith laws, like the ones in Pennsylvania and many other states, Kramer said, could have saved the Simms from the hassle of litigation.

“It is designed to make sure that an insurance carrier looks after its policyholders first and the bottom line second,” Kramer said. “What is the insurance company’s incentive to pay a claim if it can deny a claim, litigate, and the most they could ever be held liable for is the amount they would have to pay anyway?

“There has to be a level playing field and I think first-party bad faith legislation is the way to accomplish that fairness,” he added.

Tracey Simms’ father built the home in 1998, and the couple lived there with their infant son until the fire in November 2001.

The Simms’ homeowners’ policy provides for $434,000 to repair or replace the home, and includes a guaranteed replacement cost policy to handle inflation. It also contains $303,800 in protection for replacing personal property, as well as coverage for loss of use and debris removal.

Following the fire, Mutual Benefit sent out an arson investigator who never determined the cause of the blaze.

In March 2002, one of Mutual Benefit’s lawyers sent the Simms a letter saying their policy was “void for misrepresentations, false statements, and fraudulent conduct you have engaged in with regard to the fire, and your subsequent claim.”

The following month, the Simms filed their case in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

William C. Parler Jr., attorney for the insurance company, said he is preparing an appeal.

“We feel very strongly that the court erred in not permitting us to introduce evidence of the plaintiff’s financial condition in an insurance fraud case,” Parler said. “We felt very strongly that the financial condition evidence that we had should have come in to show motive and to show the inability of the plaintiff to acquire the personal property.”

© 2003 The Daily Record.  Reprinted With Permission.  The material provided in this section on Maryland insurance claims denials of insurance coverage, denial of insurance benefits, bad faith insurance lawyers, homeowners coverage claims and defenses, Maryland insurance lawyers, insured losses, damages award, million dollar verdict, insurance coverage, breach of contract of insurance, hail damage, punitive damages, jury verdicts, water damage, fire insurance, jury verdict research, compensatory damages, trial by jury, denial of insurance claim, insurance fraud defense, insurance lawsuit, bad faith denial, bad faith denials, flood insurance, fire loss, insurance lawyer Maryland, insurance attorney, recommended insurance attorneys, homeowners insurance coverage law, homeowners insurance laws, insurance law suit, homeowners insurance claim, homeowners insurance claims, homeowners insurance policy, insurance fraud defense, breach of insurance contract winning verdict, winning verdicts, replacement cost, actual cash value, amount of jury verdicts, damage awards, million dollar settlement, damages awards, federal jury trials, the U.S. Court of Appeals, and Mutual Benefit insurance attorney William C. Parler Jr. is designed for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The slogans, High-Speed Access to Legal Action, Legal Advice, Legal Counsel, Legal Protection, State & Federal Courts, Dispute & Conflict Resolution, Probate Protection, Legal News, Legal Training & Seminars, and the substantial equivalent thereof are service marks of Kramer & Connolly.